Zhang Fakui (2 September 1896 – 10 March 1980) was a Chinese Nationalist general who fought against northern warlords, the Imperial Japanese Army and Chinese Communist forces in his military career. He served as commander-in-chief of the 8th Army Group and commander-in-chief of NRA ground force before retiring in Hong Kong in 1949. Life Early life Zhang Fakui was born in 1896 in Shixing County, Guangdong province. He entered a private learning facility at a young age and went to Guangzhou to become an apprentice before joining the local militia. He entered elementary military academy in Guangdong in 1912 and then went to Wuhan's military high school. He served as Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's personal bodyguard and was appointed as a battalion commander of the newly created 4th Corps of the National Revolutionary Army. In 1923 he joined the campaign (East Expedition of National Revolution Army) to dislodge anti-sun Guangdong clique warlord Chen Jiongming from power and was promoted to regiment, brigade and then division commander. During the Northern Expedition he led the 4th Corps and defeated Wu Peifu's warlord armies in central China. The 4th Corps became known as the Iron Army. Zhang was lauded by the public as the "Hero of the Iron Army". When Chiang Kai-shek unleashed his forces against the communists in the Shanghai Massacre on April 12, 1927, Zhang stayed with Wang Jingwei's Wuhan government. He was appointed to command both 4th and 11th Corps. In the same month both KMT governments launched separate campaigns against the northern warlords, and Zhang again scored a major victory against Marshal Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian clique in Henan province. He was then promoted to commander-in-chief of the 4th Area Army and prepared to attack Nanjing. When Wang Jingwei and Chiang Kai-shek reconciled in July 1927, many communist officers under his command mutinied, resulting in the Nanchang Uprising. Zhang's army defeated the communists and chased the mutineers across into Fujian, then he returned to his home province. While in Guangdong, he drove out the New Guangxi clique and again supported Wang Jingwei over Chiang Kai-shek. The remaining communists in his army used the confusion to launch the Guangzhou Uprising, which Zhang immediately quelled with three divisions. However, he was blamed for the fiasco and resigned his command. Before the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, he participated in a series of local conflicts in order to stop the growing influence of